I am NOT a writer in the traditional sense. I do not make any living from my writing. I do not plan a book and then figure out what the parts or chapters will be. I do not then start writing and end up with an amazing creation of my imagination read by excited readers all over the world!
Oh maybe I would like to do that but just don't have it in me. Why would I then write about writing? Does writing one book make me an author? Do I just record all the experiences in my life and write a blog about my life? No! So what makes me an author? Or a writer?
I usually write because I have something that I think is important to say and for others to know about.
Yes I wrote a non-fiction book called Joyful Mourning - A True Love Story which you can find on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca or on Smashwords.com. Did it take the world by storm? NO! Novels tend to take the world by storm. I did not write a novel but a true love story which may help someone who is grieving, having lost a love, a person, a job, a dream!
Okay why would I bother writing when I should have known that so few would read my book? :)
Sometimes there is something inside you that you are bursting at the seams to say to people and you cannot help yourself but to WRITE! :)
I thought about how I first started thinking about writing, hopefully as a career, but not necessarily, but just to say something which I thought was important or useful.
Then I remembered Ben Bramble, our Librarian, and English teacher at Niagara District Secondary School in Virgil, now part of Niagara-on-the-Lake! He created an interest in me that has never died. When I have something that I think is important and just have to put it in writing to get it said, I must get it done sooner or later. That was because Ben Bramble encouraged me in a seemingly negative way.
He would teach us about different styles and purposes in writing, have us study and discuss a portion of some famous writer's writing and then we would have to write one paragraph illustrating that we understood the style of writing that he was teaching us about.
Here is what really triggered my my desire to write. We had to write a Book Review. I picked a little-known story from a pocket book that I picked up in the local drugstore in Niagara. It was called The Sinking of the Andrea Dorea!
Here is a link to a movie made about that event.. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0917964/.
Now I have to go and find my old writing my book review of The Sinking of the Andrea Doria. Please excuse me for a few minutes, I hope, while I find my original Grade 11 Review.
Unlike the Titanic, the Andrea Doria had a foe more dangerous than nature---herself!. The Stockholm did not cause the Andrea Doria to sink - it was a failure of her own making.
In spite of doubtful accusations cast back and forth both ship lines, neither one was really to blame. That fateful foggy night had picked out its fate for the 30 million dollar Italian luxury liner and had delivered it on the bow of the Stockholm.
This unforgettable collision is graphically illustrated by Alvin Moscow as an absorbing story. Discover the real reason for the most controversial sea disaster in history in "Collision Course" by Alvin Moscow.
The vivid picture of a sea disaster - the lights of the capsized liner cutting paths across the water; the shouts of men carried by the crisp air, the buzz & hum of motors everywhere and overhead a helicopter hovers while newsmen scoop pictures of the dying giant.
What made me angry at Mr. Bramble is that he asked me to bring in the book including the dustjacket, to show him. That upset me! He thought I might be cheating by copying a review on the book jacket! How could he think that of me! Then another thought entered my head, the reason WHY he wanted to see the book and jacket is that IT WAS SO GOOD, HE DID NOT BELIEVE I WROTE IT!
After he looked at the pocket book, I had bought at the local drug store (no jackets there!),he gave me a very high mark which I think was A+ I cannot remember exactly but it was very high!
That made me want to be a writer for the first time in my life!
Sadly, I have checked the internet and find no Ben Bramble. I am sure he is probably dead but why no mention anywhere? Don't the put obituaries in the local papwers? It should have been there somewhere! I had visions and finding the address, knocking on the door and telling his family how he inspired me to want to be a writer! But there is no mention of him ...
Oh maybe I would like to do that but just don't have it in me. Why would I then write about writing? Does writing one book make me an author? Do I just record all the experiences in my life and write a blog about my life? No! So what makes me an author? Or a writer?
I usually write because I have something that I think is important to say and for others to know about.
Yes I wrote a non-fiction book called Joyful Mourning - A True Love Story which you can find on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca or on Smashwords.com. Did it take the world by storm? NO! Novels tend to take the world by storm. I did not write a novel but a true love story which may help someone who is grieving, having lost a love, a person, a job, a dream!
Okay why would I bother writing when I should have known that so few would read my book? :)
Sometimes there is something inside you that you are bursting at the seams to say to people and you cannot help yourself but to WRITE! :)
I thought about how I first started thinking about writing, hopefully as a career, but not necessarily, but just to say something which I thought was important or useful.
Then I remembered Ben Bramble, our Librarian, and English teacher at Niagara District Secondary School in Virgil, now part of Niagara-on-the-Lake! He created an interest in me that has never died. When I have something that I think is important and just have to put it in writing to get it said, I must get it done sooner or later. That was because Ben Bramble encouraged me in a seemingly negative way.
He would teach us about different styles and purposes in writing, have us study and discuss a portion of some famous writer's writing and then we would have to write one paragraph illustrating that we understood the style of writing that he was teaching us about.
Here is what really triggered my my desire to write. We had to write a Book Review. I picked a little-known story from a pocket book that I picked up in the local drugstore in Niagara. It was called The Sinking of the Andrea Dorea!
Here is a link to a movie made about that event.. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0917964/.
Now I have to go and find my old writing my book review of The Sinking of the Andrea Doria. Please excuse me for a few minutes, I hope, while I find my original Grade 11 Review.
Unlike the Titanic, the Andrea Doria had a foe more dangerous than nature---herself!. The Stockholm did not cause the Andrea Doria to sink - it was a failure of her own making.
In spite of doubtful accusations cast back and forth both ship lines, neither one was really to blame. That fateful foggy night had picked out its fate for the 30 million dollar Italian luxury liner and had delivered it on the bow of the Stockholm.
This unforgettable collision is graphically illustrated by Alvin Moscow as an absorbing story. Discover the real reason for the most controversial sea disaster in history in "Collision Course" by Alvin Moscow.
The vivid picture of a sea disaster - the lights of the capsized liner cutting paths across the water; the shouts of men carried by the crisp air, the buzz & hum of motors everywhere and overhead a helicopter hovers while newsmen scoop pictures of the dying giant.
What made me angry at Mr. Bramble is that he asked me to bring in the book including the dustjacket, to show him. That upset me! He thought I might be cheating by copying a review on the book jacket! How could he think that of me! Then another thought entered my head, the reason WHY he wanted to see the book and jacket is that IT WAS SO GOOD, HE DID NOT BELIEVE I WROTE IT!
After he looked at the pocket book, I had bought at the local drug store (no jackets there!),he gave me a very high mark which I think was A+ I cannot remember exactly but it was very high!
That made me want to be a writer for the first time in my life!
Sadly, I have checked the internet and find no Ben Bramble. I am sure he is probably dead but why no mention anywhere? Don't the put obituaries in the local papwers? It should have been there somewhere! I had visions and finding the address, knocking on the door and telling his family how he inspired me to want to be a writer! But there is no mention of him ...
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